Choosing an Apprenticeship with First Media - Sams' story

Sam talks about choosing an apprenticeship instead of a more traditional route into his career as a designer and content creator.

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Sam talks about choosing an apprenticeship instead of a more traditional route into his career as a designer and content creator.

News & Blog

14 May 2019
5m read

Sam's our first full-time apprentice here at First Media and has already hit the ground running, working on some fantastic eLearning design projects for national clients. He's settled in quickly and has proved to be a valued member of the team. For us, the apprenticeship has been beneficial so far but we wanted to hear what choosing an apprenticeship has been like for Sam...

We asked Sam why he chose an Apprenticeship?

At the end of my A-Levels I had several options available to me – go to university like most of my friends, or to follow a different path.

As for any young person, I think it's a pretty significant decision to make, it's all about working out what you think will be best for you! Going to university gives you the opportunity to experience a wide range of career opportunities within your chosen course, but you leave with huge student debts. An apprenticeship is great for anyone who wants to specialise in their chosen industry, and the best part, you get paid! Being local to First Media gave me the drive to approach Shane for some of his time, and off the back of this, I joined First Media back in November 2017 as an intern. The time I spent on the internship proved invaluable in allowing me to demonstrate my skills and commitment.

So, what was the next step?

Once I had settled in and found my feet, the next step was to find a suitable apprenticeship provider. It took a bit of time to find the right one, but eventually, we joined the Creative Alliance. We felt the Junior Content Creator was the best way forward, giving me skills much more relevant to our line of work.

What projects have you worked on and which have you enjoyed the most?

I’ve been fortunate enough to work on quite a range of projects here, mostly eLearning. The first major project I was involved in was the Veterinary CPD course for world leading forensic science business, Forensic Access. Working alongside Lead Designer, Richard Pipe, I helped to create graphics, build modules and edit videos. The eLearning we produced together is aimed at supporting vets to identify and report animal abuse cases…

Recently, I’ve been involved in building the Horticulture and Veterinary Medicine modules for education provider Landex. The project has been a huge challenge in terms of the amount of content that needs to be passed to the learner through the courses. It's really helped me stretch my creative ideas to deliver the learning in a fun, engaging and creative manner.

I've also supported Rich on projects for some high profile clients such as The FA and The Premier League. I've enjoyed them all to be honest and have learnt a lot in the process.

That's great! tell us more about what you've learnt?

The beauty of apprenticeships is that you learn more about your chosen industry whilst you're working. I must admit, when I left college, I had never even thought about designing and building eLearning products. There are so many tools and techniques we implement into a course to engage the user, it really helps to challenge you creatively! So far, I've helped to build some of our custom, bespoke courses - this has given me quite a bit of insight into HTML, CSS and Javascript. Many courses I have helped to build recently use the popular Adapt framework, with the wide choice of presentation and question components, it has really encouraged me to come up with unique ideas to make the learning interactive.

Sounds like you've learnt a lot, what are your plans for the future?

I hope that when I finish my Apprenticeship, I’ll be able to continue developing my skills and push my career in the media industry further and remain part of the team here at First Media. Perhaps as a Junior Designer or something like that. I always smile when I see my work out in the real world, I think that's what really drives me!

First Media crafts creatives!

If you're considering an apprenticeship, internship or work experience, its always worth asking if we can support you. Whilst we can't guarantee a place we will always do our best to support new talent. For more information please contact us